


Now Kiss!

by blackfin



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, First Kiss, Fix-It, Fluff, Kissing, Love Confessions, Lovey-Dovey, M/M, Post Credit Sequence? What Post Credit Sequence?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-15
Updated: 2018-12-15
Packaged: 2019-09-18 10:39:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,630
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16993482
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blackfin/pseuds/blackfin
Summary: It's the night before Shiro and Curtis's wedding, and Keith is not having a good time. Wallowing in regret that he never told Shiro how he felt, and now the man he loves is getting married to someone who isn't him, Keith is about to drown his woes in a scalding hot shower when there comes a knock on his door."Keith?" Shiro's soft voice floats in from the other side, "Are you awake?"





	Now Kiss!

**Author's Note:**

> there's a lot of good things about voltron  
> ....that ending is not one of them  
> first of many fix it fics  
> also posted on my tumblr, blackfen, and my twitter, tenebrisfen

He was going to fucking drown himself in a scalding hot shower. That was the only way he could think of that might relieve just an iota of the absolute misery he was wallowing in. After that, he’d either die in an incredibly embarrassing position or actually grow the fuck up and force himself to, at least, project the façade that he was delighted for Shiro. He didn’t want to be genuinely happy for him, so much so that he spent an ungodly amount of time ever since the announcement had been made, trying to convince himself that he was happy, how could he not be happy? His best and closest friend was getting to the love of his life and sure, it wasn’t him but that didn’t change the fact that Shiro was obviously happy so he should be happy too! 

Thing is, repeatedly telling himself that didn’t change a fucking goddamn thing. Happy was the opposite end of the fucking ‘this is what Keith is feeling’ spectrum. It was so far away from where he currently stood that he couldn’t see a hint of it. As aforementioned, where he stood on that metaphorical spectrum was right smack middle in the ‘literally right on the verge of openly, violently weeping at any moment’ area. Pressing the heels of his hands into his eyes, Keith sighed heavily. How could he not be happy? Well, the answer to that was pretty darn simple. Shiro was getting married tomorrow. To a good man, a man that Keith liked and got along well with, a man who made Shiro happy but point of the matter was, that man was not him. 

It was his own goddamn fault, that he knew. He didn’t place any blame or anger on Shiro or Curtis. It was all his fault because he was an idiot coward who just kept his mouth tightly sewn shut for years. He was an ignoramus who thought it’d be fine, he was fine with just being friends, with just being by his side and that it was okay, as long as he was happy…it was all okay. 

It was not fucking okay. 

When Shiro started dating Curtis a couple years ago, Keith spent months agonizing over whether or not he should tell Shiro how he really felt. Obviously, he eventually decided against it. Why, he still had no idea. No…that was a lie, that was a big ass lie that he was telling himself right then. He knew why, he had a very clear picture of why he’d just watched from a distance, presenting this front of being someone completely and utterly unaffected by the fact that someone he loved for years was dating someone else. Because he was a goddamn coward. Absolutely terrified of actually vocalizing something he had hidden for years. Not to mention, it felt a little…wrong to bring those feelings to light when Shiro was involved with someone else. 

So, he kept silence, and his distance. It was just easier that way. Wandered off into the massive universe with the Blades, moved up in the ranks, spent years helping everyone he could, growing, learning, and just generally experiencing the big wide open. Only to come back a few years later when an announcement was sent his way: he was invited to Shiro and Curtis’s marriage. 

He had come so fucking close to saying that he couldn’t make it. That he was too far out and wouldn’t make it in time. He hadn’t, somehow he’d managed to restrain himself but he had come so close that he was still burning with a bit of shame. Now that he was actually here, having gone through the rehearsal dinner and an agonizing amount of time around the lovebirds, just how happy the two of them were unintentionally rubbed in his face, he kind of did wish he had thought up some kind of excuse to get out of this. It wasn’t good for his health. Mostly because if he kept feeling this guilty and ashamed, he might end up with a stomach ulcer. 

Sighing heavily once more, Keith rolled over onto his side. He needed to grow up. Shiro was happy! He was getting married to someone he loved! This was good! Just because he didn’t take advantage of one of the many opportunities that had been given to him didn’t mean that he got to be an asshole. Well…secretly an asshole. Not like he’d ever let Shiro know just how much this was negatively affecting him. He might be selfish, but he wasn’t that selfish. No, he would just privately wallow, forcing big smiles and joyous laughs, convincing everyone…except for Pidge…and Hunk...that he was absolutely okay with all this. 

Before that, though, a scalding hot shower was in his immediate future. So immediate that it was going to get started now. Rolling off the bed, groaning a little when his feet hit the floor, Keith started towards the bathroom, only to come to a startled halt when someone knocked on his door. 

“Keith?” Shiro’s familiar voice called from the other side, “Are you awake?” 

His first instinct was to call back in the negative, he was still very much awake and probably would not be sleeping at all tonight but just as the words were on the tip of his tongue, he hesitated. Was this a good idea? Was this actually a good idea now? He wasn’t exactly in the best state of mind right now so talking with Shiro, who probably wanted to discuss all the good times they had together and how happy he was that Keith was there to watch him get married, might not be the best idea. Conflicted, nervously shifting his weight around, Keith went through a brief, fierce internal discussion as he tried to figure out just what the fuck he wanted to do. Ultimately, the side that wanted silence, pretending to be asleep won out. 

Guilt immediately pricked his heart but…he just couldn’t do it. Not now. He didn’t want to say anything that might ruin Shiro’s big day. Better to just swallow everything down, let it fester in his stomach until it developed into something nasty and let future Keith deal with those residual feelings. Shoulders slumping, Keith sighed for what felt like the tenth millionth time that night, and turned away, starting towards the bathroom once more. He’d hang around for a few minutes, maybe just sit on the floor and stare blankly into space for a while. 

“Keith, please.” 

The tone…the softness…the desperation in Shiro’s voice made him freeze. His breath got caught in his throat, creating a massive blob of oxygen that pressed against the linings. Slowly turning back around, Keith stared blankly at the door for a moment, distantly wondering if he was so stressed out by the whole thing that he was imagining things then his feet were moving, carrying across the room with no conscious effort from him. Reaching out, uncertainty and doubt squealing in the back of his mind, begging him to reconsider, to not do this to himself, that whatever Shiro wanted to talk about was not worth the mental strain that it was going to put on him, Keith gripped the doorknob, paused for just a moment then slowly, cautiously pulled open the door. 

There stood Shiro, dressed only in a pair of sweatpants and a loose fitting tee. Immediately shifting over into ‘I am friend with no romantic feelings for you, dude’ mode, Keith offered a confused smile and managed to get out just, “Hey, Shiro, what’s-“ before a strong hand grabbed his shoulder, pushing him back into the room as Shiro surged forward. After that, everything moved remarkably fast. Sputtering in confusion, eyes stretched wide in surprise, Keith found himself being pushed down onto the bed, Shiro’s big hands cupping his face then with a short, sharp inhale, a warm, firm pair of lips pressed against his in a desperate, hungry kiss. 

Too stunned to do much of anything other than just lie there, staring at the blurry mass that was Shiro’s face, Keith thought for just a moment that he had died. That he had actually taken that scalding hot shower, and just drowned in the bathtub since he couldn’t really think of any other explanation as to why in the fuck Shiro was suddenly kissing him. Then, a hot tongue pushed between his lips, spreading the taste of Shiro’s mouth into his – minty, someone had just brushed his teeth, and Keith jerked back to reality. It felt a little stupid to be realizing it right now, when there was a tongue actually in his mouth, but Shiro, who was set to get married tomorrow, was kissing him! Letting out a muffled yelp, he slammed his hands against Shiro’s beefy chest, shoving him backwards. 

“What’re you doing?!” He yelled, more out of sheer shock than anger. 

Panting hard, his broad shoulders heavily rising and falling, Shiro noticeably swallowed, producing an audible click. Leaning back, he brushed a hand through his short hair, eyes fluttering closed, and said softly, “Sorry, just-when I saw you, I was so overwhelmed that I lost control of myself for a moment.” 

“What’re you talking about, Shiro?” Keith asked, mouth hanging open in a stupid gawk. 

Opening his eyes to focus a calm, unflinching gaze on him, Shiro sucked in a deep breath, then began to slowly speak, “I agreed to go out with Curtis because I thought that I had no chance with you. I thought that your love was just for a brother, for a friend and I…” Shiro chuckled, a low raspy sound that came from somewhere deep in his throat, “I think I just wanted to get over you. I told myself that it’d never happen, that I should stop hoping for it and move on. So, when Curtis asked, I thought ‘this is it. This is your chance to move on’ so I agreed.”

“For a long while, it worked. Curtis is an incredible man. One who…who I wasn’t already in love with someone else, I would have genuinely fallen for. And…I think you not being there helped as well. It was easier to forget about how much I loved you when you weren’t by my side. I thought that I was over it. That I’d managed to shelve those feelings, and moved on. Then, he popped the question. I saw no reason to say no. The invitations were sent out, you said you were coming and I thought-“ Shiro paused, thick brows knitting together over a conflicted gaze, “I thought when we met back up for the first time in years, I’d be alright.” 

“I wasn’t.” Shiro stated quietly, his voice so heavy that Keith was shocked it didn’t break the bed when those words came tumbling out, “Everything…everything I felt for you came back the moment I laid eyes on you. One instant, I was confident in my decision to get married to Curtis then in the very next, I wanted nothing more to,” Shiro chuckled again, “to do what I just did. I wanted nothing more than to just tell you everything.” 

“Shiro-“ Keith whispered, hardly able to believe what he was hearing. Dead…he was actually dead, wasn’t he? This was all some fever dream while the Grim Reaper was slowly sucking his soul out of his dying body. 

“I thought,” Shiro continued, cutting off whatever else he was going to say – not that he was sure there was any more, “that nothing had changed. You still saw me as your brother, your friend so I just swallowed everything down. Told myself that I had Curtis, that I was going to get married, so everything was okay but…nothing…nothing was okay. You being here shook me up more than I ever thought possible.” 

“I’m sorry?” Keith mumbled, his head whirling. 

Shiro slowly shook his head, “No, it’s not something you need to apologize for. It isn’t your fault.”

A heavy, tense silence fell over them. Keith stared at Shiro, his heart thundering so fast that he could feel the reverberations of each beat echoing through his body. Swallowing hard, his throat suddenly very dry, still able to feel Shiro’s lips on him and almost a little ashamed at how much he wanted Shiro to kiss him again, Keith hesitated for a moment then asked, “Why are you here then?” 

“Hunk.” Was all Shiro said. 

“Ah.” Was all Keith said. 

Again, they fell into silence, one where neither one could tell what the other was thinking. Not that Keith was actually thinking anything. His thoughts were just a constant, steadily growing in volume repeat of what Shiro had just said. Same, same, same, same! A voice screeched with deranged gleefulness in the back of his head. Inexplicably, he was starting to feel a migraine coming on. Shifting gingerly, terrified to move around too much since there was a possibility that this was all just a hallucination and if he made physical contact, he might disappear in a poof of smoke, Keith said, “Hunk told you everything.” 

“Yeah.” Shiro said softly, nodding stiffly, “Everything.” 

“What about Curtis?” Keith asked hesitantly, not sure that he wanted to hear the answer. 

“I’m here because of Curtis. I think…” Shiro sighed, “I think he’s always known. After Hunk confronted me with how you felt and told me that I was making a mistake, I was prepared to discard how I really felt. I was prepared to remain true to Curtis but when I got back to our room, he was already there. He told me that he overheard what Hunk said. He told me to go, that this…that,” Shiro’s gaze flickered up to settle an intense, raw stare on him, one that made him jump back slightly, “you are my happiness.” 

All the breath whooshed out of his lungs in a long, raspy breath. Blinking rapidly, a weird ringing filling up his ears, Keith coughed, awkwardly cleared his throat and said in a strained voice, “Cool.” 

The moment the word was out, scalding heat poured into his cheeks. Waving his head frantically, he tried to apologize, to explain that this was a whole lot more than just ‘cool’ but before he could say anything, Shiro burst out laughing. Pushing forward, he wrapped Keith up in a warm embrace, squeezing him close to a beefy chest. Keith hung limp in the circle of his arms for a moment before returning the embrace, anchoring himself to Keith’s bigger, broader body. Burying his face into Keith’s shoulder, he whispered, “I love you, Keith. I have for a really long time. I’m sorry it took me this long to tell you.” 

“Y-you don’t need to apologize. I…I love you too, Shiro. I was just too scared to tell you.” Keith mumbled, pressing his burning cheek to Shiro’s broad shoulder. 

“Hey, Keith, do you want to marry me?” Shiro whispered huskily into his ear, lightly kissing the patch of skin contacting his neck to his shoulder. 

God, his face was going to turn into a fucking sun at this point. A immense emotion that was a mixture of relief, disbelief, jubilation and just a mishmash of other stuff that he didn’t have a name for but seemed good swelled up in his chest, pressing so hard against his heart and lungs that it was hard to breathe. Squeezing Shiro tightly, tears welling up in the corners of his eyes, a sob lingering at the back of his throat, waiting for the perfect moment to burst forth, Keith shakily nodded, pushing his fingers through Shiro’s soft hair, and whispered, “Yeah, I do.”


End file.
